The L shaped pad is a safety device to help protect your kneecap from
shattering when it hits the cold start knob in a collision. You can
leave it off and nothing bad will happen if you never get in a crash.

Mark

Mark L. Hineline wrote:
> My 1982 started life as a diesel. On the dash, there is an extra L-
> shaped piece of vinyl and foam that surrounds the warm up cable (or
> whatever that cable is). What purpose did that L-shaped piece serve?
>
> Mark
> 1982 Westy
>